Walnut coffee table, Jens Risom design

[Tim Gerla]

I saw a neat coffee table designed by Jens Risom, a fairly prominent mid-century furniture designer, and decided to build my own copy. I hadn't built any interior furniture bigger than a little plant stand before, and I'd never really worked with hardwood, either.

It's all made of 4/4 walnut, assembled using dowels, some mortise and tenons, and Z-clips to attach the tabletop to the frame. For a newbie, I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

I've attached a couple of selected photos of the finished project, and I've got a full build album here: http://imgur.com/a/2XfK7 -- there's a screenshot of the original inspiration in there, too.

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Thanks for looking! I learned a lot about the finishing process from this forum.

[Jim Becker]

Very nice work!

[Will Boulware]

Very interesting design! Well executed too. I like it!

[glenn bradley]

Cool design. Very nice job.

[Marty Schlosser]

Good workmanship! Details about the finish you'd like to share with us?

[Tim Gerla]

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate your kind comments. A little more detail on the finish: it is all Waterlox Original. I sanded to 220 grit, and put about 6 coats of varnish on. This is the first time I've used Waterlox so I experimented a little bit. The first two coats were pretty heavy: brushed on with a cheap disposable foam brush. I know the instructions recommend a natural bristle brush to avoid bubbling. I tried one coat with natural bristles, and I didn't get significantly less bubbling, so I went back to foam--easier to "clean up" by just tossing the brush. Between the thick coats, I sanded really gently with a fine-grit pad. Then I switched to the "fast food busboy" technique and just put a few really thin and quick coats on with a lint-free cloth. I didn't want to build up the finish too much, so I stopped at around 6 coats, with a nice glossy surface and a tiny bit of the grain texture still showing through.

My understanding is that the glossy finish will soften up a bit to semi-gloss over time. So far I'm really pleased with Waterlox--it seems very forgiving and easy to work with compared to a poly finish. I'll definitely be using it for future projects, where appropriate!

-Tim

[Frank Necaise]

Tim nice coffee table. My sister just asked me for one to go with her other Jens Rison table. I plan to start one soon. Thanks for the link on how you did yours.

Frank

[Bill Carey]

Very well done Tim. Rison has some cool designs and that's one of my favorites, which you did justice to for sure.

[Clark Hussey]

Nicely done!

[David Utterback]

Elegant. Job well done. Thanks for sharing!

[Ed Gibbons]

Very nice!

[Tom Bain]

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate your kind comments. A little more detail on the finish: it is all Waterlox Original. I sanded to 220 grit, and put about 6 coats of varnish on. This is the first time I've used Waterlox so I experimented a little bit. The first two coats were pretty heavy: brushed on with a cheap disposable foam brush. I know the instructions recommend a natural bristle brush to avoid bubbling. I tried one coat with natural bristles, and I didn't get significantly less bubbling, so I went back to foam--easier to "clean up" by just tossing the brush. Between the thick coats, I sanded really gently with a fine-grit pad. Then I switched to the "fast food busboy" technique and just put a few really thin and quick coats on with a lint-free cloth. I didn't want to build up the finish too much, so I stopped at around 6 coats, with a nice glossy surface and a tiny bit of the grain texture still showing through.

My understanding is that the glossy finish will soften up a bit to semi-gloss over time. So far I'm really pleased with Waterlox--it seems very forgiving and easy to work with compared to a poly finish. I'll definitely be using it for future projects, where appropriate!

-Tim

Tim — Nice work on the table ... once the Waterlox fully cures (it takes a while) you can always rub out the finish to lower the sheen. This is typically done with 0000 steel wool and wax but there are other techniques as well.